The Story on Page 1
by eyedocjr
Summary: Boundaries dissolved, realms collide, and people from different worlds and eras unite to unravel the chaos around them. An alternate take on the main events of PXZ. All canon characters.
1. Prologue 1: The Wanderers

20XX AD

_The world is engulfed in a quiet chaos. Shadows lurk behind the peacefulness of everyday life. Twisted beings writhe unseen in the darkness. Mysterious portals connect the real world to others more fantastic. But, with the passage of time people have eventually come to understand and even accept these as a part of everyday life. All without knowing of the existence of people and organizations fighting the true evil._

_There is a certain family that has worked in secrecy behind the scenes throughout history. The story begins with a theft of a treasure known as a "Portalstone" that this family has been protecting over the ages. Mii Koryuji has enlisted the help of private detective Kogoro Tenzai in order to locate the treasure. Who stole the stone, and for what purpose? The ambitions of various people, organizations, and creatures have intertwined turning this incident into a great source of turmoil. The past, the future and even distant worlds from other dimensions have been drawn into what will be a long, long journey for our heroes._

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6:47 a.m. The Koryuji Estate

It seemed that it was going to be another boring day at the Koryuji estate. The sun was hanging low in the sky, a gentle breeze was blowing, rustling the trees on the massive property, and there wasn't anything there to disturb the peace. Definitely the start of a boring day. As the sun continuously rose, the peaceful air remained, only to be broken by the sound a front door slamming open. The doors, now open to the world, produced a teenaged girl covered from head to toe in a matching red, black, and yellow dress.

"Whew, guess I'm last out of the house. I suppose I'll be saying goodbye to this old mansion for a little while. But I gotta say… What's taking him so long…?"

The girl gave a stretch before continuing, letting her crimson hair fall over her shoulders. She took a look around, surveying the expansive garden before her, scanning every inch of it in hopes of spotting her guest. After waiting for a couple more minutes, the teen was about to give up and go back into the house when she heard a familiar shout from over her shoulder.

"Hey there, Lady Mii. Finished locking up yet?"

Startled by the intruder, Mii turned on her heels and faced the person before her with seething anger in her eyes," Ugh! You are so late! You have to be the laziest private tutor in the world!" Throwing up her arms, she continued, "I've already given up on you actually teaching me anything useful. But the least you could do at a time like this is help me out a little, Kogoro!"

Uttering a slight chuckle at the outburst, the man gave Mii the most charming look he could muster, making her face break out in a slight twinge of red, "Hey, m'lady, don't get so worked up. It'll make your skin break out again. I just had a bit of an issue I needed to clear up at the office."

Shrugging off her embarrassment, Mii began to sneer as she heard Kogoro mention the words 'office' and 'issue', "Oh, reeeally? Look, I know you never actually get any detective work done. Why don't you drop the act and concentrate on trying to teach me something, huh?"

"Ah, you always were one of my touchier pupils. This particular issue though… I think I know what it is about."

Snapping to attention, Mii's expression changed from sassy to serious in the blink of an eye.

"What issue? What are you… You mean the stone that was taken from my mansion?"

Kogoro gave a nod in response, but immediately closed the small distance between them, cupping one hand over Mii's mouth and dragging her behind a tall bush. Mii, startled by the gesture, began to struggle, but soon after she understood why it was important for her to stop talking and hide. As the duo peered beyond the shrub, they could see the large lumbering form of two multi-colored monsters heading towards them. The group, appearing to be plant like in origin, inched along the ground leaving dark green slime trails in their wake.

"Ugh, those two are messing up the lawn! Do they know how HARD it is to keep these grounds tidy?! Well, I mean I don't do it, but still…"

Turning towards the source of the noise, Mii mentally kicked herself for revealing their location before rolling to the right to avoid being crushed by the oncoming monster. Jumping to her feet she turned around to flee the beast but smacked into a third one standing right behind her. Weaponless and defenseless, she froze on the spot while the monster gave off a haughty laugh.

"Hoh hoh hoh! By the name of our master I have been ordered to apprehend the heiress of the Koryuji estate. As such, you will be coming with me little la-"

Cut off mid-sentence, the monster fell to the ground with a thud as its head landed a little ways away. In the aftermath of the shock, Mii saw her tutor standing where the enemy once stood, his golden blades glistening with blood. Wiping some of the fluids off of his face, Kogoro turned to face her with a grim smile on his face.

"Looks like our culprits haven't given up robbing you blind just yet."

"Never mind that! We gotta catch 'em and find out where they took the stone! Kogoro! Let's get 'em!"

"As you wish, m'lady," were the last words uttered from the ninja before he disappeared in a flash. Reappearing at the side of the monster still picking itself out of the bush, he produced his signature 'Nyoraito' blades and began to slice and dice at the creature, reducing it to little more than minced meat. Turning to face the final monster, he was startled when it appeared out of nowhere and slammed into him, leaving him breathless as he took a rather hard tumble. Doing a barrel roll to reduce his ground time, Kogoro was about to strike when the center of the beast was shot out by Mii's 'Dragon Jewel' shotgun. Giving of a weak smile, Kogoro stared at the confident look spread out across her face.

"So, you had a weapon on you then m'lady?" _And here I thought I was going to be the knight in shining armor and save you from the dragon._

"Sure do," she sang, "I thought something like this would happen so I brought it just in case!"

"_I wonder about the wisdom of giving guns to schoolgirls though. I mean, I know she's from a family of fighting monks, but still…_"

"I heard that, besides, what kind of detective carries around a sword like that?" she indicated, pointing towards the red staff at his side.

"A smart one, that's who. Plus, my sword skill qualifies me to teach you martial arts, no?"

"Yeah, but I wish we would move on to ninjutsu sometime. The real kind, not any of that goofy stuff you usually show me."

"We'll see. Anyway, I wonder why those guys even bothered coming back. They got what they came for and there's nothing left to possibly steal. Unless…" he shook his head, dismissing the thought, "Anyway, they had to be here for a reason, let's look around and see what we can find."

"Ooohoohoo, trying to play the master detective again aren't you? Alright then, no harm in taking a look. What else could possibly go wrong today?"

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**A.N: Well, there you go, the first chapter of my PXZ fanfiction. The events are pretty much the same just with added dialogue and battles put into real-life perspective. Tell me what you think.**


	2. Prologue 2: Where the Strong Survive

**Hello all! Sorry for the long wait. Seriously, I had gotten stumped so many times while I was making this chapter (Writing from a martial artst's perspective is hard yo). But anyway, the long awaited Chapter 2 is here. Chapter 3 will be uploaded sometime this week.**

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6:55 A.M. Roppongi, Japan

In the early morning streets of Roppongi, one could clearly make out two figures moving among the shadows of dawn. The first was walking seven feet ahead of the second, obviously trying to escape his pursuer.

"Jin! Jin, wait up!"

The man pretended not to hear his companion, instead choosing to increase his pace rather than stop. However, he turned around for a brief moment to look into his partner's eyes, giving her a cold stare.

"Don't follow me, Xiaoyu. This is my problem to handle." Unfazed, the girl continued to chase him, refusing to give up.

"No, it's not! Besides, there's something wrong with you, isn't there?!"

The duo kept their brisk pace, only stopping when Jin slowed down as he (seemingly) reached his destination. Looking around, Xiaoyu was confused as to why he had decided to take a break in the park. Jin never exactly struck her at the nature-loving type so this whole situation was quite odd.

"Jin, what exactly are we doing here?" Taking a glance around, she observed the faded concrete walls and small patches of grass growing nearby, "We're in the middle of the Roppongi district so there's no way we will find anything particularly useful here."

Sighing, Jin once again turned to her. "I came here to find out what's happening to me. There have been reports of energy spikes in the area so that might be the key to solving my problem."

Rolling her eyes, Xiao folded her arms, "Yeah, yeah, I get it, but that doesn't mean you have to do it on your own you know." The two had a bit of a silent stare-down before continuing on their path, Jin once again staying a few strides ahead of his partner.

* * *

Out of the blue, a piercing scream cut through the air as a red demon flew straight at the duo. Doing a side flip to avoid the oncoming enemy, Xiao whirled around to face the foe only to see it had ignored her completely and was going after Jin.

"Jin, DODGE!"

The man obliged, but not before delivering a swift kick to the monster causing it to cry out in pain as it slammed to the ground. As it fell, the creature took a swipe at Jin, tearing his pants leg but leaving little damage behind. He finished it off with a brutal punch to the neck, snapping it with a loud crunch.

"Demons straight from Hell huh? How appropriate is that."

He winced as he felt a flash of pain run through his body, using as much willpower as possible to keep Xiao from noticing. This however, failed completely.

"Jin, stop trying to hide it, I can see that you're in agony from all the way over here!" Xiao took a step forward but once again had to jump back to avoid a back press from a silver robot.

"And then there's THIS guy! Out of my way buddy! My friend's in trouble so I've got more important things to do than fight you right now!" She got into her usual fighting stance, shuddering as she heard Jin's muffled cries of pain. Though, before she could deliver a blow, another group of people decided to make an appearance.

"You heard her, Dural! If you want a fight, then you can take us on!"

Looking at the source of the intrusion, Xiao was overjoyed to find herself looking at the world famous movie star, Pai Chan. "Are you… Pai? The action movie star? Oh, we must be on a film set! I should've guessed, what with those devil guys and that silver robot. This kind of stuff never happens in real life!"

Pai gave her a stern look before answering, "Sorry, but this is no movie. I don't know about those monsters, but that silver robot is Dural. We're pursuing her. Me and my bodyguard, that is." She wryly jabbed at the man with spiky anime-hair standing next to her.

"I don't remember anything about being your bodyguard, Pai. Name's Akira Yuki. I'm a martial artist. Who are you?"

"Oh! I'm Ling Xiaoyu! This is Jin Kazama. He's—"

"The head of the Mishima Zaibatsu; but know all about **him**, don't we Pai?" Seeing Xiao and Jin's horrified expressions was all Pai needed for confirmation.

"Looks like you nailed it to me. What now, Akira? If we get involved now, we may wind up regretting it later."

"One way or the other, I have to take on Dural. I do not train to harm other people, but devils and cyborgs are another matter."

He got into a readied stance as Dural turned to face him, "Xiao, we'll handle the robot, you two take care of the demons."

"Thank you, Akira! Thank you, Pai!"

She turned back to face the multitude of demons that had cropped up while she had been talking. The demons let out a blood-curdling screech before, once again, throwing themselves at their combatants. Xiao struck the first on the side of its head, sending it flying off to the side and into the fountain. Aggravated and wet, the mongrel flew at her with increased vigor but found itself receiving a kick to the head by one Jin Kazama. Defeated, it lay silent on the ground as a second one tried to take the two from behind. However, like the first, it got caught by a series of jabs before being sent into the ground. The third managed to break through their defenses and leave slashes on both Jin and Xiao. It only stopped when Jin reached out and grabbed its head, using his strength to throw it into the nearest wall before repeatedly slamming it into the brick edifice. Ensuring that the beast was dead, he turned back to Xiao who was smirking at him for unknown reasons.

"You okay Xiao?"

"Yep! Just glad to see you back to normal. It's much better to see you this way that your usual gloom and doom self."

"Hey Akira! Pai! How are things on your end?!"

"Just about done over *_grunt*_ here!" Akira replied, out of breath as he back pressed the robot to Pai who uppercut-kicked it in the head. The silver-menace fell to ground, finally stopping its assault on the martial artists.

Arms akimbo, Pai turned to her compatriots, "Well that takes care of that. What do you sa-" She was cut short as a shadow passed overhead and slammed her into the ground face first with a sickening crack.

"Ah, so that's where you've been. You caused me a lot of trouble, y'know."

The intruder looked down at the woman under her foot, rubbing her face further into the ground in disgust. "Ugh, seems like I stepped into some trash on the way over here. Oh well, stuff like this comes with the job."

The assailant jumped back to avoid a flying fist to her face courtesy of Akira, and stood smirking as he moved the unconscious Pai away from her.

"You? Who are you and what do you want?!"

The anonymous figure gave a chuckle before answering, "That's for me to know and you to not find out. A cliché statement, but it works nonetheless."

Jin took a good look at the intrusion, knowing that he has seen her somewhere before.

"That that outfit… a practitioner of Taekwondo? You're Juri Han, aren't you? Agent of S.I.N.?"

Juri turned to look at Jin, a smile widening on her face, "Well well well, looks like we've got ourselves a little detective over here. You know, your company has caused S.I.N. a great deal of headaches with the way you keep sticking your nose into everything!"

Akira, who had been silent for the entire endeavor, decided to speak up. "So, you've decided to settle the score between your two companies once and for all then? Is that the reason you're here?! Then how does that explain Dural?!"

"V-Dural, by the way, and it's coming with me. Also, if you even think about trying to fight me, you'll end up like your little actor friend over there."

Unable to move with the injured bundle in his arms, Akira was helpless to act as Juri sauntered over to V-Dural and picked it up, slinging the robot over her shoulder. Across the fountain, Xiao and Jin sprang into action, each taking opposite sides of the pathway in order to box Juri in.

"You're not going **anywhere** Juri!" Jin spat.

"Yeah, especially not after what you did to Pai!" Xiaoyu exclaimed.

"Ugh, geez, you two are like whiny brats that've had their toys taken away. But oh well, I'll play with you for a while."

She dropped V-Dural on the ground and got into her fighting stance, ready to attack at any moment's notice. "Ready to fight losers, 'cause I'm not going to take it easy on you!"

"Then neither will we!"

Juri barely had time to dodge an oncoming energy sphere as it demolished the ground where she once stood. "What the- you two?! I thought I had ditched you in Thailand, how the hell did you get to Japan so quickly?!"

The Shotokan strangers strode up to the stairs leading down to the fountain, surveying the carnage that lay below. "You can thank the Masters Corporation and their network of jets for that. Now, about that fight…"

Xiao waved at Jin trying to grab his attention.

"Hey Jin, who are these guys?"

"That's Ken Masters, the top street fighter in the US and his friend Ryu, the wandering warrior."

Startled by the feminine voice, Xiaoyu scanned the area only to find that Pai had been listening in on their conversation.

"Pai, you're alright!"

"Heh, thanks for the concern, but it will take a lot more than that to take me down. She just caught me by surprise is all."

Juri, now visibly annoyed, clenched her fists and started to yell. "Quit yer yappin' already! I thought capturing V-Dural would be a pushover. Now it's gettin' interesting!"

"V-Dural? Not the Judgment 6 version?"

"You know something about this Ken?"

"Yeah. We're involved in some pretty deep stuff here, man."

Ken pointed at the red carcasses littering the area, "…I think I've seen those devils somewhere before, too."

"Hmph, that must be why our master sent us here to Roppongi then."

"So, what's our move, Ruy? Heh, as if I need to ask."

Ryu balled his fists and placed them together, letting out a slight smile, "Yes. The only way through this is with our fists." He turned to the others, "I assume none of you people mind."

Akira held up his hands, "No. I'd say this lady needs a lesson or two pummeled into her."

Jin finished, "Agreed. If we want to finish this, then fighting's the only way."

"Heh. Heheh. HAHAHAHAHAHAH! You losers really think you can beat be THAT easily? I'd like to see you try!"

"With pleasure!" Ken shouted, using the stairs to give him more momentum as he jumped at the Korean woman.

Punching empty space when he touched down, Ken swiveled around to find that Juri had swiftly dodged to his left and had her leg raised in preparation for attack. She swung down using all of her weight and met with a resilient block by the warrior under her. Both were locked in a hold before swinging their limbs aside. Ken followed up with a series of punches while luring Juri to the bottom of the stairwell at the same time. Not wanting to be pinned in, she lifted her leg as Ken halted his assault, but swung at his side instead of his head, hitting her mark and knocking the wind out of him. He spiraled away in order to avoid going down and she started to move in for the kill, stopping after being blasted by a powerful Mestu Hadoken from Ryu. Charred and enraged, Juri gave out a shout and used her powerful legs to lift her up the stairs and to the waiting warrior, swinging at him as she neared the top.

Catching his block, she used her momentum to send him closer to the railing, following up with a series of rapid-fire kicks after landing. Sprinting up the stairs to assist his friend, Ken screeched to a halt and faced the combatants; Juri delivering swift blows to front and sides of his friend, and Ryu literally being pressed against the wall. He charged up his fist before striking at her, leaving a trail of fire in his wake and cutting off a few of her hairs. She landed a few feet away ready to strike once again, but was now having to face two opponents instead of one.

Unable to resist the challenge, she smirked before hurling herself at the duo, legs ablaze. Ready for her attack, the Shotokan warriors dashed off to either side as she hit the granite surface, breaking it under the force of her attack. Back-flipping off, she followed up with a vertical cartwheel kick and launched energy waves around her, hitting their targets and leaving a rather nice burn mark across their chests.

Recovering from the attack, Ryu immediately latched onto Juri, holding her down while Ken moved in to hit her with a Shinryuken. The attack collided with her head on and she was sent flying into the air, but she managed to straighten herself mid-air and land somewhat unsteadily.

Wiping the blood from off of her chin, she glared at the two before standing up. Slightly winded, Ken looked over to Ryu and nodded at him in understanding, both deciding it was due time to wrap up this fight. Ryu made the first move, launching another Hadoken straight at Juri which she aptly dodged, only to find herself in the waiting punch of one Ken Masters. Catching it before it hit her already bruised face, he then used this opportunity to fall backwards, taking her with him and kicking her into the air.

Letting out an angry yelp, she tried to correct herself but found that it was already too late. Slamming into her with a spiral kick, Ryu sent her tumbling down the stairs until she hit the bottom, finally lying still for the first time since they started fighting. Landing on the top step, Ryu gave her a once over and made sure she was down for good this time before turning to his friend.

"Well that was a lot more difficult than expected." Ken said, wiping away the sweat on his forehead.

"Indeed. How are you all holding up over there?"

"A few knicks, scratches, and bruises, but otherwise fine. I'd still like to get Pai's head checked out though." Akira replied, worried about the bleeding gash in the side of her head.

"Oh stop worrying Akria, I'll be fine. This is just a light scratch after all." she pointed to the spot in question, wincing slightly at the gesture.

"Would…you…bastards….just….shut. the. fuck. UP ALREADY?!" Juri shouted, picking herself up off the ground.

Jin and Xiaoyu whirled around, stunned by Juri's sudden recovery.

"You may have won this time punks, but you'll pay for this next time we meet! Dural, don't just lie there like a chump, let's go!" With that statement, she vanished, V-Dural following closely on her heels.

There was a moment of silence before Ken decided to speak up, "Well, that's that. Jin, can you tell what's going on?"

"It's too long. I'll let her tell you," he replied, indicating towards Xiaoyu.

"Oh! Well then let me start with what happened when Jin and I got here…"

"Heh heh! Sounds like you guys are used to working with each other, huh?"

As Xiaoyu began explaining, nobody took notice to the fact that the fountain behind them was glowing until it was too late. With a flash, a column of ethereal light shot up from the edifice taking both Jin, Xiaoyu, Ryu, and Ken with it.

* * *

"Akira?! You still there!" Pai shouted, worry evident in her tone.

"Yeah, I'm here, don't worry. What I want to know is what happened to everyone else."

Alarmed, Pai surveyed the area trying to locate any evidence of where their friends were taken. Akira placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze before speaking, "Let's go look for them, Pai. They couldn't have gotten far."

Pai nodded in response, anxiousness still written on her face. As Akira turned around, he couldn't help but wonder about the events that transpired before him, _"Dural, S.I.N., those monsters, and now our missing comrades… is all of this just one big coincidence? Or is this the calm before the storm?"_

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**A.N. And that concludes Chapter 2. Sorry to any Virtua Fighter fans that may be reading this, but I don't really get that game all too much. I tried my best to write with Pai and Akira and I hope that I didn't mess it up too badly. Decided to go with a more serious Xiaoyu (but still the one we all know and love) and a Jin who is less moody and more concerned for the welfare of others. Thanks for reading and please review.**


	3. Prologue 3: The Swords that Smite Evil

**What is this? A new Chapter? Due to how long it took me to make the last one, I decided to hoof it and get this one out as soon as I could. Don't worry though, I made sure that it had as much quality as the chapters prior to it so you don't have to worry about that aspect. Read on viewers!**

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7:00 AM. The Schlafen Celeste, Endless Frontier

Onboard the Schlafen Celeste, a pair of travelers were clearing out the remains of an old storage room when they came across some unusual items scattered across the ground. Following the trail of junk, they finally reached the source of it all, a transporter room that they were all too familiar with. As they passed through the door, the silver-haired man in front tripped over some misplaced object, stumbling a few steps before straightening himself. Looking back, he inspected the items dispersed across the room and sighed, "Oh, great. Check this out, Kaguya. More junk's found its way in here. This dimensional transport device has some serious stability issues, huh?"

Kaguya, on the other hand, didn't seem as amused, "Something's wrong, Haken. I feel a strange power from the device. It's almost like a spiritual force." She stepped forward and checked every-which way for the source, making sure to avoid the clutter surrounding her.

"A strange power? Like what we felt at Fromido Heim?"

She shook her head, "No, not like that. It's totally different from anything I've felt. Haken, this transport…"

"You think it's connected to another world right now?"

"I think that's highly probable, yes." She bit her lip, worry coursing through her. If it's anything like what happened last time, she knows that there will be a tough fight ahead of her. The Fujisakura might even be...

Haken turned around, facing the transporters in question, "Someplace so far away, yet no more than a few footsteps from us. That's how it always goes in our world, the Endless Frontier."

"In other words, you never know what's going to happen; but we shouldn't worry about that. The future is a mystery to all of us, and besides, something tells me we're in for another big adventure here!"

"Heh. Whatever you say, Princess Ray-Gun. Anyway, we better bust up and clear out the junk in this chamber."

She clenched her fists in victory, "Sure! I'm not too good at cleaning, but I'll try!"

* * *

As if by a stroke of bad luck (or just good old Murphy interfering again), the transporters turned on and dropped of a couple of robotic enemies. The duo turned their heads to look at the new opponents, Haken recognizing them immediately, "Wow, that's a sight for sore eyes. I haven't seen those guys in, what, eight months, a year?"

Kaguya sighed, looks like her suspicions were confirmed after all, "Well, no use standing around here then, let's knock some heads Haken!"

He laughed, "Where'd you get that from m'lady? Certainly not from me."

"Oh come on, I can do things without your knowing," she stuck out her tongue and lightly bumped into him.

The robots, refusing to be ignored, rushed at the two who seemed to be lost in their own little world. However, they were in for a big surprise as the lead droid found itself being cleaved in half by a very large blade. The second stopped short as it didn't want to fall to the same fate as its companion. However it was all too late though as its central processer was shot out by Haken's Night Fowl. Not even winded, the pair stared at the defeated enemies on the floor, "Does this mean we'll have to clean up these guys as well?"

"Unfortunately princess, yes, yes we will."

Haken adjusted his hat, staring at the transporters that were once active. "Though I'm wondering why those just turned on for no apparent reason. I know they usually spit out junk and occasionally people, but those were supposed to be broken down."

On cue, the transporters once again activated, this time spitting out a man in a red coat who seemed rather familiar, "Nnn…gh… Where am I… A ship? What happened to me?"

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear I guess," Haken stepped forward to the man with Kaguya following suit. "Hello, stranger. Don't look like you're from this world. Who are you?"

The stranger looked around, realizing that the surroundings aren't the ones that he was used to. "'This world?' So this could only mean that I'm in… Before I give you mine, tell me who you are first."

"Oh! Um, nice to meet you! My name's Kaguya Nanbu. I'm the princess of Kagura Amahara."

Haken put his hand to his chin before extending it in greeting, "Ah, there's my Princess. Ever the paragon of politeness, huh? I'm Haken Browning. Guess I oughta welcome you to the Endless Frontier."

"_Nanbu and Browning? Is this some sort of coincidence? So my suspicions were indeed confirmed, this is the Endless Frontier he spoke of…_"

The man took the open hand, "I am Sänger. Sänger Zonvolt. I am a crew member on the battleship Kurogane and pilot of the Personal Trooper, Dygenguard."

"Dygenguard? Boy that sounds pretty powerful."

Haken chuckled again, "Okay, Mr. Samurai, how 'bout we hear a little more about your story? This isn't the first time this has happened."

* * *

"It sounds like this "New AD" world of yours is pretty close to ours. So what do you think, mister Zonvolt? You're free to go back if you want. The coordinates for your New AD world ought to still be in the transporter."

"If you like, sir, we could have some tea over at the castle," Kaguya added.

Sanger shook his head, "Excuse me, Ms. Nanbu. Thank you for the offer, but I must return right this moment."

"Well we would if we could, but the transporter's busted up. We can access the control panel and see the log of transports, but we can't willingly send things and what does come through is usually broken up junk. It's amazing that you actually arrived here in one piece."

As if to spite him, the transporters at the other end of the hall roared to life, dropping off two bee-like creatures. One of them spoke in a high-pitched tone, making in nearly impossible to decipher what she was saying. However, the words "enough" and "satisfied" could be understood through whatever garbled tongue she was speaking.

Kayuga raised a brow in confusion, "Are these friends of yours, Sänger? They look extremely dangerous."

"No friends of mine." he readied himself, "In fact, they look downright hostile."

"Kaguya and I can take care of this. You can stay back and watch."

Refusing to do so, Sanger stepped forward and produced his signature blade, "I prefer to clean up my own mess, thank you."

"A samurai sword, huh? Guess you can hold your own well enough in battle."

Kaguya waved the pair down, indicating towards the man's sword, "Wait. That spiritual power… I can feel it coming from that sword! I'm sorry, sir, but could I hold that for a moment?"

"Mmm? Certainly, but our enemies are right in front of us, Kaguya."

"Don't worry. This won't take long." she said, taking the hilt of the blade and resting the tip of it in her other hand.

"O spirit of the sword, show thy presence for the sake of your Master."

The blade flashed with light before changing into a much larger version of what it was originally.

Sanger took back his sword and inspected it, a look of pride crossing his face as he did so.

Haken whistled as he watched the spectacle unfold, amazed that the Princess even had the power to do that.

"I felt like this sword had been well taken care of. It's infused with the spirit of its wielder and all I did was release that energy."

Sanger grunted a 'hmmm' in response while Haken, on the other hand, was rather perplexed at the whole situation.

"'Hmm'? You get what she's on about, boss? Cause let me tell you, I sure don't. Can you even use this thing?"

"Absolutely. I am one with this sword. I wield it with my very soul! It embodies my soul, thus it deserves a special name. I shall call it the Type-X Colossal Blade!" he swung the blade down, emphasizing his speech in the process.

Kaguya nodded, "It suits you well, I think." While Haken followed with a similar statement.

The enemies seemed to acknowledge that the trio was quite powerful, because before anyone took a single step, the transporter activated once again. Unlike the last two beings it produced, this time a tall being clad in a purple uniform with large, scythe-like wings entered the ship.

He accepted the company of the fighters, giving a slight bow before introducing himself, "It is good to meet all of you, creatures from another world. I am Jedah Dohma, head of the Dohma family. Hmm… and what world might this be, if I may ask? My lady, you are quite fetching, though I fear your intelligence lags."

Kaguya put her hands up in front of her, confusion written across her features, "I-I don't know whether to feel pleased or insulted."

"That's one rude gentleman. Wonder what's up with him." Haken looked over to Sanger who extended his blade in front of him, "I feel he is… something unhuman. Haken! Kaguya! Do not let your guards down. He is dangerous."

Jedah put his hand to his head, rubbing his temples before placing them back by his side, "The libido of one's sensitivity reaches the Realm of Paraiso. In other words, I seek souls. Souls worthy of my attention."

Fed up with the jibberish the demon was saying and the absurdity of the whole situation, Sanger barked back at Jedah telling him to shut up, "… Enough of this nonsense! I am Sänger Zonvolt, the sword that smites evil!"

Kaguya followed up with, "The Colossal Sword shall always shine against villainy!"

Haken, not having anything particularly inspirational to say, merely shrugged his shoulders.

The Q-Bee on the other hand, weren't happy about having their master insulted the way he was. They gave out a sharp cry before launching themselves at the trio who dashed off to either side to avoid the assault. Sanger swung his blade as they passed, hitting one and sending it into the far wall. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to kill it and it flew at the man while unleashing swarms of bee-like darts. Sanger managed to block most of them, but the ones that made it tore through his defenses left scratches on both his face and arms.

"Haken! I'll distract these foes while you and Kaguya take out their ringleader!"

Haken gave a nod, "Alright, if you can handle it. But don't hesitate to call for help if you need it!"

He turned, guns at the ready, to Jedah who was calmly waiting in the same spot that he arrived.

"Well Grim Reaper? You ready to party?"

"With much anticipation in my heart I graciously accept this challenge," Jedah replied, launching his arms at the waiting pair.

They dodged the assault with ease but weren't prepared for the spray of blood that followed.

It coated the walls and the floors, making them slick and difficult to maneuver.

This made movement difficult especially when Jedah followed up by turning his wings into blades and throwing it at them.

The blades circled once around them before going in for the kill, luckily Haken slid out of the way in the nick of time and Kaguya blocked it with her Zankantou. Unfortunately, the slick floors sent her sliding backwards several feet before coming to rest halfway across the ship. This gave Haken an idea as he used the slippery ground like an ice rink and started skating across it while simultaneously firing off several rounds from his Night Fowl; many of which made direct contact with Jedah. He recoiled from the impact by righted himself immediately only to come face to face with the bladed edge of the composite rifle. It cut straight through his abdomen leaving a good size hole where his stomach once was, but his didn't seem to affect the demon at all as he staggered back from the attack, face completely calm even with the gaping wound. Haken slid back to prepare for a counter-attack but received no such opportunity.

Instead of having to block an attack, he merely stared at the open space where Jedah once was as he had fluttered straight past the cowboy while he was backing up. The noble stopped in front of the Princess who immediately fired off the chakrams from the top of her blade. They disappeared for a split second before re-appearing and cutting into Jedah at all angles. This, once again, didn't seem to disturb him as as he instead used the attack to launch a typhoon of blood spreading to all corners of the massive room. It rose about 3 to 4 feet in height, reaching the couple's waist and staining their clothing.

Haken groaned as he looked at his ruined clothing, "Aw man, do you know how impossibly HARD it will be to get bloodstains out of leather?!"

Kaguya followed up with a, "Well at least you're not the one wearing a WHITE OUTFIT!"

They tried wading through the thick mess but seemed to be held in place by an unseeable force. Said force grabbed them by their legs and dragged them under the surface leaving no trace of them behind.

* * *

Inside the bloody river, the twosome struggled to get to the surface, lungs gasping for air and mouths filling with the taste of iron. The blood bubbled around them, changing shape and gathering together in one point. From out of the gathering, Jedah materialized in front of them and began clapping, congratulating the two for their efforts.

"Fascinating. I had no idea such powerful beings existed in other worlds."

He drained the blood out of the room, putting it back in its proper home and leaving them on the ground, both breathing heavily.

"Unfortunately, now is not the time to begin collecting souls. I shall leave that to the day the salvation truly begins."

The noble turned to leave, but not without saying one last thing, "Don't worry though, we shall meet again once you and I are one."

Kaguya looked up to see that both Jedah and his henchmen had vanished, leaving the trio in peace. Sanger hopped down from his perch atop a junk pile and ran over towards where the fighters were picking themselves off the ground.

"Are you two alright?! What of the demon? Is he still around?"

Haken recovered enough nod a "no" for Jedah and a shrug for their health status. Kaguya was the first to pick herself off the ground and noticed that the blood had completely soaked through and obliterated the already faulty transporters.

She sighed and turned to the samurai who gave her a quizzical look in response, "Sorry Sanger, but it looks like you'll be stuck here for a bit while longer."

"You shouldn't worry though, we've got a mad scientist who can patch this thing up no problem."

"Ah, Mr. Browning, so you are indeed alright then. That's good to hear."

The man in question stood up and gave a stretch, making sure that nothing was injured or damaged in any way, "Yeah, but I can't say the same thing about my clothing."

"Oh! Excuse me Sanger, but since you can't go home right away does this mean you can come back to the castle and have some tea with us? Or maybe you'd like something a bit stronger…"

"Tea is fine," he replied. "In fact it sounds rather delicious right now."

* * *

**A.N. Aaaaaaand, that's it! It was shorter than the last chapter (due to less characters) but still fun to write. Anyway, a few thoughts on Jedah. A). He's the type of person who will analyze first, fight second. Based on observances made on both his character and analysis of how he acts in game, I believe that Jedah is the type of person who will analyze first, fight second. In order to find strong souls, he intentionally takes hits to gauge a person's strength physically and mentally. This doesn't really affect him that much as he can instantly regenerate (being made of liquid has its perks), but can still feel pain (which is also used as a guide).**

**B). He's old as HECK! Seriously, if he were defeated that easily then he doesn't deserve a spot as a High Noble of Makai. The man is 6000 years old, one would think that after millenniums of fighting he would have seen (nearly) every fighting trick in the book (Though this doesn't mean that he still can't be surprised every once in a while).**

**C). The only way I can see him being defeated is by someone who is stronger than him, his powers are overloaded, or he is tricked (like what Ozumu did in Darkstalkers 3). Someone stronger can refer to Morrigan, Demitri, Arthur, (possibly though I'm not so sure) Lady, and Dante. Not saying that the other characters can't, it's just that these 5 have more experience fighting demonic creatures and forces of the occult. Power overload can refer to biting of more than he can chew (see above Darkstalkers 3 example), or taking on so many enemies that his power actually begins to put a strain on his body. One can only regenerate and decapitate a certain amount of times before their body starts to break down/run out of energy, even if said person is a powerful demon.**

**Anyway, that's my opinion, you're free to disagree with me if you want. New Chapter next week, please read and review!**


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